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New Report Provides Health Data and Resources for Maryland’s Black or African American Community

Baltimore, MD (January 31, 2014) — The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) has released a new report, “Blacks or African Americans in Maryland: Health Data and Resources,” the fourth in a series to raise awareness of health conditions and provide educational resources for minority populations in the state.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010 there were 1,700,298 persons in Maryland who reported Black or African American (Black) as their only race, which comprised 29.4 percent of the State’s population. The Black population in Maryland has grown approximately 43% since 1990.

Data highlights from the report reveal troubling disparities in health and health care for Blacks in Maryland, as well as some progress made in reducing health disparities for Blacks in Maryland:

• Blacks in Maryland were nearly two times more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to not be able to afford to see a doctor, and were 2.1 times more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to be without health insurance during 2006-2010.

• The HIV incidence rate for Non-Hispanic Blacks was 9.8 times higher than for Non-Hispanic Whites in Maryland in 2011.

• The Black infant mortality rate was 2.7 times higher than that of Non-Hispanic Whites in Maryland for the years 2008-2012 combined.

• The disparity between the Black and White age-adjusted all-cause mortality rate for Blacks decreased 56.8% from 2001 to 2012. The disparity between the Black and White cancer mortality rate decreased 60.9% during 2001-2012, and the disparity between the Black and White diabetes mortality rate decreased 46.7%. Despite this progress, disparities still remain between Black and White mortality rates.

"This report provides a tremendous amount of data on critical health disparities affecting Blacks in Maryland," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "It shows both how far we have come and how far we have yet to go."

The Department recently released reports on Maryland’s American Indians and Alaska Natives; its Hispanic population and our Asian and Pacific Islander population.

“Blacks or African Americans in Maryland: Health Data and Resources” is the fourth in a recent series of reports on health data and resources on Maryland’s racial and ethnic minority communities,” said Dr. Carlessia Hussein, Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. “The Department is pleased to release these reports to provide greater health information on the racial and ethnic groups in the state.”

For information about the work of the DHMH Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, visit http://dhmh.maryland.gov/mhhd.

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